No Smooth Path to Eros
by Very Vicious Vixen
Summary: Kagome moved in with Kikyou after the death of her parents. Inuyasha never thought he would be lusting after his enemy's sister. Sesshoumaru questioned his philosophy on love. Sango and Miroku enjoyed active occupations. MF
1. Opening to a new chapter

**No Smooth Path to Eros**

By: VeryViciousVixen

Blanket Disclaimer (applied to every chapter in this story): Inuyasha and co. belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

**Prologue: Opening to a new chapter**

"Just move your bags to this room for now then go put on something decent. We are going out to eat."

Seventeen-year-old Kagome Higurashi quickly did as she was told, uncomfortable under her sister's gaze. They were half sisters by blood, but by the thick, awkward silence in the house, one could tell that they might as well be strangers to each other. Their father had begun a long, on-going affair when Kikyou was six, finally resulting in Kagome two years later. Kikyou's mother had then demanded a divorce, and she barely allowed her daughter to meet her extended family. She poisoned Kikyou's mind with hatred towards her father's new wife and her own new half sister, holding them responsible for tearing their family apart. Kagome knew of the guilt and shame her own parents possessed over this mistake. She hoped they would finally forgive themselves now that they had passed away in a car accident. Without her parents, Kagome was left with Kikyou as her only living relative and possible guardian.

Kikyou pursed her lips at the picture of Kagome in her "decent" dress. Not only was the dress at least a year old, judging from the way Kagome's pert, young breasts were straining against the material, but the rather modest, cutesy-girl style of the dress was putting her younger sister into the perfect picture of mouth-watering sensual innocence. Kikyou did not like the fact that there was already a nagging voice at back of her head, whispering that her innocent-looking little sister would attract more attention and admiration from the crowd when they walked together. Turning on her heels and gesturing for Kagome to follow her to the silver Mercedes--a one-month anniversary gift from her significant other--Kikyou made a mental note to herself to get Kagome some new clothes as she headed towards _Musashi's Domain,_ the most luxurious restaurant in O-togi Zoushi city.

Thirty minutes later,Kagome found herself looking around the restaurant her sister had taken her to. She was sure that the price of one appetizer from this place could be as much as her father's one month salary. Judging from Kikyou's designer dress and shoes Kagome could only conclude that she probably ate like this everyday. She remembered how her father used to speak about how successful his first child was in a proud tone, usually with a sad wish to meet her again after all these years added after. There were so many things she did not know about her sister, seeing as that they had only met twice before: once at Kikyou's high school graduation and once at her parents' funeral.

"I would assume you thought we would be living at my house and that you would continue to go to the same school and pretty much live your life the way you used to?"

Kikyou's bored voice startled her out of her mental conversation. She didn't know magazine editors moved around a lot. She wiped her mouth with the napkin, trying to hide her worry. Would she have to accompany her sister or would that just mean she would be home alone a lot?

"I did think we would be living at your house. Are you thinking of moving out to a new place?"

Her older sister responded by pulling out the golden chain she wore around her neck, showing Kagome a platinum ring topped with an obscenely large emerald cut diamond.

"We will not be living at my place because I'm marrying Sesshoumaru Takahashi next month."

* * *

"I didn't think you were the 'love conquers all' type, Sesshoumaru. I always thought you would only marry to better the business."

Sesshoumaru Takahashi ignored his brother and went to the far corner of his and Inuyasha's private office to check his cell phone for a short text message from Kikyou—she _did _mention she would be unavailable for a while because she had to look after a relative; a sister if he remembered correctly. Looking at the younger man who was currently enjoying his cup of their afternoon coffee, he remembered that there were days when he could barely contain himself from hugging his brother when Inuyasha had successfully taken care of all their company's legal matters and smoothly got rid of business competitions for him, but this was a time when Sesshoumaru could do without Inuyasha saying anything at all.

After the death of their father, Inutaisho, who had held the title of "the richest man in the world" for seven consecutive years until a couple before his death, Sesshoumaru had taken over the company. He ran it with capable hands and was flourishing in the communications business: the phone, the internet, and the advertisement sub-companies under his command were unrivaled in the business world.

Inuyasha, who was four or five years younger, chose to go to law school. He was content to let his brother have all the power to turn both their shares of inheritance into profit. He never did have the urge to be a businessman, but rather was enjoying his work as a lawyer: taking care of the company's legal matters and its human resources. Inuyasha certainly liked the fact that he could have his share of profit from the company's successful run without having to deal with too much of the business-savvy aspect of it all.

They may have had their differences and arguments, but the two brothers were as close as brothers could be.

"Number one, Inuyasha, I don't believe in love. Number two, I was not looking for a headstrong woman, no matter how much I could gain from marrying one. I just needed someone presentable for the social outings and someone fertile enough to bear my children."

"Don't forget about the warming-your-bed part. The sex is important."

"I could tell from the number of bimbos clad in a robe I saw in your chamber. And shut up about my sex life, Inuyasha, or I'll be forced to throw my very valuable lawyer out the window."

Inuyasha gave his brother's retreating back a fang-exposing grin. Sesshoumaru was no prude, but he definitely liked to keep certain aspects of his life, such as his sex life, in privacy. And free from Inuyasha's teasing, if he could help it. That part about the privacy was the reason why Inuyasha decided to open his mouth—he really did want to keep quiet but an unanswered question was demanding the use of his voice.

"You're marrying her in a month and I've never met the little lady. I don't even know her name! Is it Kyoko?"

"No. It's Kikyou."

Inuyasha's mouth went dry. Surely that was only a common name?

"What's her last name?"

"You wouldn't know it. Her family is rather average. It's Higurashi. Kikyou Higurashi."

There was definitely a down side to their pact of not nosing into each other's relationships, because it prevented them from stepping in when it counted. By the time Sesshoumaru finished his coffee, Inuyasha was already mentally going through all the tricks he had up his sleeve, trying to prevent his brother from marrying his two-timing ex-girlfriend.

_End Chapter One_

Author's Note: I am writing this when I should be studying for my college exam. Sigh. Blame the plot bunnies. I plan to make this a rather long fic because, as the name has suggested, there would be several obstacles one would have to encounter in a relationship.

Ah, sibling rivalry. I almost forget how it was now that my siblings and I have (mostly) matured into adulthood. There will be a contrast to Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's sibling interaction versus Kikyou and Kagome's. Keep in mind that the girls barely know each other and Kikyou had an evil mom while the boys are quite close. The boys do appear to be sexist pigs here aren't they? That's part of the start in character development in this fic.

Thank you to everyone who have read and reviewed my first fic "I Need To." Reviews and constructive criticisms are also welcomed and most appreciated in this fic. Thank you for your time


	2. Stumbling Introduction

**No Smooth Path to Eros **

By Very Vicious Vixen

**Stumbling Introduction **

Kagome leaned uncomfortably against the cashier counter while she waited for her purchase, her arms already loaded with shopping bags of various sizes. The last week had been the most hectic of her life.

Apparently, being the sister of Sesshoumaru Takahashi's future wife required many changes on her part. The first and most important change was her transfer to Sengoku High School, the most prestigious school among the top prep-school circle, reserved for the extremely rich and talented. Kagome believed she was well-rounded, but her marks were hardly outstanding, her athletic ability did not go beyond being second string for the school's archery team, and she doubted that being co-president of the babysitting club back in her old high school impressed the school board very much. Therefore, when the acceptance letter came three days after she sent in the application, Kagome finally realized the power of her connection to the Takahashi family for the first time.

Then there was the endless shopping trip. She understood the necessity of looking good in public, but she really was not ready for all the clothes shopping Kikyou had put her through. Deeming the majority of her old clothes improper to be worn now that her relationship with the Takahashi family would make her somewhat of a public figure, Kikyou gave her a credit card and instructed her to go brand-name clothes shopping. Kagome reminded herself that this was a dream come true for so many girls her age and she should just enjoy it, but she was more than slightly disturbed at the life style of the rich and famous. Who in their right mind would spend the same amount of money as her babysitting club's monthly income on a pair of shoes?

Inuyasha sipped his coffee while absently flipping through the newspaper, frustrated and bored out of his mind at the same time. Luck was certainly not with him today.

At the hellish hour six-thirty in the morning, he was woken up when one of the maids dropped a vase in the hallway right in front of his door. At eight o'clock he spilled his coffee on his plate of hash browns, bacon and eggs and had to wait another fifteen minutes for his breakfast sans bacon (the cook apologized profusely that they just ran out). At one o'clock he was supposed to meet the representative of the Company in this mall. Five minutes into the wait someone from the company called his cell phone and asked him to reschedule the meeting, seeing as the representative was recently in the hospital, shot by his wife in the upper arm when she caught him with his secretary in his office. He would prefer to get the hell out of this place, but his Ferrari decided that today would be a good time to not cooperate and Inuyasha was forced to wait right where he was to make sure his beloved car was really back in shape.

And worst of all, he still could not find the right moment to tell Sesshoumaru that he shouldn't marry Kikyou, seeing as the tramp was not quite clean in the fidelity area. Inuyasha was not interested in helping his brother debate over the shared properties after the divorce when he caught Kikyou cheating on him like Inuyasha himself had on that fateful day over five years ago. He could not say he remembered it like yesterday, but he definitely remembered the gist of it. He definitely remembered that it hurt because Kikyou was his first serious girlfriend ever among all the flings and one-night stands he had participated in, ever since his teenage years.

_Flashback:_

_Inuyasha rubbed his neck tiredly, still jet lagged from his trip to France where he acted as a representative of the Takahashi Communication Corp. in signing agreements among the other top communication businesses around the world for the last three days. Sesshoumaru, who was against his plan of going to law school, promised to stop nagging him about what he should be doing with his life if he would work for their father's company during the summers of his college years as the company's representative in making and closing deals with their partners abroad. _

_Finally back from the business trip, thankfully a day earlier than scheduled, Inuyasha was looking forward to two things: rest, and seeing his girlfriend of four months, Kikyou, again. It was a long month and a half away from her. He could not find her at the house she shared with her two childhood friends, however, but followed her housemate Tsubaki's instruction to the nightclub "Shikigami," hoping to find Kikyou there._

_He could not find her in the dark and crowded club, so he decided that a little drink was in order before he tried to find her again. He smiled to himself as the picture of the proud young woman entered his mind._

_She was certainly a special someone, he knew it right from the first time they met. As the representative of the journalist club who was interviewing him on his recent win for their college's national kendo competition, she was refined, opinionated, and strictly professional. Not once did she use the opportunity to flirt with him or bore him with mindless conversation about herself or flatter him beyond who he was. He was the one who chased after her, seeking her out at clubs and outings, intrigued by the way she carried herself with authority, the way her brown eyes flashed with confidence, the way the sunlight got caught in her dark shiny hair. After a hard two months of casual dates and just "getting to know each other," she finally agreed to become official with him. Inuyasha did not want to get ahead of himself but he could really see some kind of future for them then. Kikyou was a strong and intelligent woman; she would not let the name Takahashi down._

_There were times when he thought they were both still holding back from each other, but he brushed it off as that was all right. He had only had one night stands or on again off again flings before he met her, and she seemed to be coming out of a bad relationship, but he was happy that they would learn together. The thought of her alone was enough to keep him away from certain "company" he could expect from the females of Paris the last month and a half—he did not cheat on her once during their time apart._

_Still deep in thought, Inuyasha downed a few drinks while starting to think Tsubaki had given him the wrong directions. He decided to walk around a bit and asked Naraku, the bartender, to watch his seat and jacket._

_It was not a long walk before he was confronted with the shock of his life._

_A man and a woman casually walked out of the one stall lady's room, clinging and laughing to each other, the edge of the woman's underwear sticking out of her purse a clear give away of what they had been doing in the tiny space. He would have dismissed the couple had the design of the woman's red and white crystal-studded silver wristband not caught his attention._

_The jeweled ornament was hard to miss, covering from the woman's wrist up to one fourth the distance to her elbow and the crystals were arranged into a picture of a detailed bellflower. He remembered picking it out himself from Tiffany's exclusive collection; the company promised him that it would be the only one in the whole world, and he had given the one-of-a-kind jewelry to Kikyou for their one-month anniversary. This could only mean one thing…_

_Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha roughly grabbed the woman's arm and spun her around to face him. She cried out in surprise at first, before turning ghostly pale when she saw his face, her pupils dilated in confusion._

_"Wh-what…?"_

_Seeing Kikyou's kiss-swollen lips hardened his eyes and turned the hurt in his heart to icy indifference. Letting go of her, he grabbed the hand of her companion, a pale and relatively tall man with dark hair, and gave it a firm shake._

_"Congratulations! It took me two months to get her to officially go out with me. Seems that she has fallen for you rather quickly." He turned back to face his now-ex-girlfriend, stroking her cheek with one finger even when his eyes gleamed with hatred. "And I'll deliver all of your stuff that were left at my place to your house tomorrow. Don't you worry."_

_And with that he walked out of the club, and, he had hoped, out of her life forever._

_End Flashback_

Finishing the comics, Inuyasha absently looked around until he found focus on a very interesting someone. His mouth curved into a predatory smile. Maybe luck had not forsaken him completely today after all.

In front of him was a young woman clad in faded jeans and a frilly blouse with no sleeves. She currently had her back to him, allowing him to look without facing her open ire. Her dark, shoulder-length hair seemed to be naturally rather than artificially wavy, and so glossy and silky-looking that he itched to feel the strands slipping through his fingers. Her arms were smooth and toned with light muscle, her skin creamy and flawless. Her top and jeans clung generously to her body, showing him one of the best hourglass figures and the longest pair of legs he had ever seen. Inuyasha was intrigued. Now, if only she would turn around.

Kagome felt the prickling sensation of being watched. Instinctively, she turned 180 degree around, scanning the area for danger. An elderly man was organizing his briefcase on a bench to her left. A couple of preteen girls were looking at some shoes in the next shop to the right.

And in front of her was a young man—a _very_ good looking young man with the most beautiful silver hair she had ever seen—who was watching her with open fascination. He had lightly tanned skin, a ruggedly handsome face with dark brows, straight nose, a well-formed mouth that was currently occupied with a coffee mug and the most intense and magnetic golden eyes that she had ever seen. She was attracted. His bold stare did nothing to calm her nerves; in fact, it seemed to make her blushed for no good reason and began to feel uncomfortable in her own skin. Catching herself staring back at him, she squeaked and turned back to the task at hand of choosing between two equally extravagant dresses (Kikyou insisted), only to find herself in the way of a certain hasty man who unceremoniously knocked her flat on her butt.

Inuyasha unconsciously held his breath when the woman turned around and looked right at him. From the brief moment that he was allowed to gaze at her before that uncouth excuse of a man knocked her to the ground, he realized that most of the women who were deemed beautiful in the world could not hold a candle to this woman…girl.

Her physique was as perfectly exquisite in the front as in the back, but it was her face that did him in, young and unjaded, although surprisingly familiar. Inuyasha wagered that she was probably in her late teens (at this he quickly went through the legality issue in his mind) with flawless skin, a dainty little nose, and soft, sensual lips that he really needed to stop fantasizing about. But what he really could not get his fill of were her beautiful eyes, sapphire blue and framed in thick, long lashes, radiating warmth and innocence. They seemed to look at the world with the open curiosity of someone who had never done wrong in her life. A sense of protectiveness and possessiveness entered him without warning. Inuyasha crossed their distance in long strides, stopping in front of her with the intention of helping her up.

She really should have paid more attention to the surroundings, Kagome told herself, still dizzy and slightly out of focus on the cold floor. Apparently the man who had run into her lacked the decency to make sure she was all right or even gave her a quick apology. She sighed and tried to get up with all her shopping bags in the way, only to find a masculine hand at her eye level. Accepting it without much thinking, Kagome was surprised when she came face to face with the man she had caught staring at her only minutes before. Blushing at their closeness, Kagome shyly looked a little more closely at his face and found herself mesmerized by his beautiful golden eyes and handsome features, the kind that would make her girlfriends dub him as "smokin' hot." At more than half a foot taller than she, he seemed to be clean cut with no beard or visible tattoos and piercings, and from what she could outline from his sleek and definitely designer suit, he had a lean, athletic body. She swallowed thickly. She had never been in this kind of situation before.

Kagome was no misandrist. In fact, she doubted she could ever hate anyone or anything in her life. She wasn't homosexual either. It was all thanks to her experience with her three best friends all the way back in junior high, really, that she had never been close to a man who was not a family member all her young life. She practically grew up with Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri, and went to the same school with them, too; the circumstances might have changed slightly now, but she made a promise that they would try to get together on everyone's birthdays at least.

It all happened when they were in ninth grade, a happy and content group of fifteen years old with a future of endless opportunities. The topic of boys was casually introduced to them by the school educational curriculum and by their parents. Ayumi was the first one of them who wanted more than friendship from a boy. They were all watching hopefully behind a bush as their friend gathered her courage to ask a relatively nice boy from the photography club out, only to have to comfort her with a big milkshake later when the boy politely told Ayumi that he was having a long distance relationship. Later, Yuka got herself a boyfriend by accepting a date from the meek and slightly shy Suekichi. Luckily they seemed to be just right for each other and they had been together ever since.

Kagome herself had never been asked out by anyone, and the reason given by her friends were that the boys were too intimidated by Kagome's outstanding beauty that none of them could work up the nerve, fearing rejection because Kagome could have had any guy she wanted. Blushing, Kagome had personally dismissed this theory, thinking that she should naturally develop a crush on a boy as she got older. And if things would continue that way, Kagome would have enjoyed the life of a normal girl and maybe eventually found the courage to ask any future love interest on a date. The things that happened to poor Eri, however, was the reason why the girls, minus the lucky Yuka, decided that it might be a good idea to give up on men forever.

In the early spring of that fateful year, an excited Eri accepted a date with her long-time crush, the star of the fencing team, Hiten Raichuu. He continued to ask her out, finally earning his place as her boyfriend and was admitted to their group along with Suekichi. Ayumi still went on a few dates here and there but never had anything serious going on. Those were happy times. They could have stayed friends forever with how close they were then, but the truth had to come out in the open eventually, no matter how painful it was.

Kagome remembered that day well. Yuka was sick and Suekichi was taking her to the health center, and Kagome herself was looking for the rest of their group to inform them of Yuka's condition. Hiten was the first person she bumped into, and when he told her that he saw Eri and Ayumi near the gym, she easily tagged along, her mind still on her sick friend. Her senses were put on alert, however, when she noticed Hiten was leading her towards a rather secluded area at the back of the gym, and she planted her feet down, asking him where they were heading.

As an answer to her question, Hiten grabbed her arms and threw her onto the ground, kneeling beside her shocked form. His eyes were scary, greedy and lustful, as he reached for her, growling about how beautiful she was and how much fun they were going to have together. Out of sheer self-preservation, Kagome pulled her arm away from his grip and slapped him for all she was worth before scrambling to her feet, screaming for help. She did not get very far, however, before he grabbed her hair and yanked it, directing her to face him with her back against the wall of the gym. Laughing like mad and pinning both her arms above her head, he warned her that he had a knife and it would not be in her best interest if she attempted to scream or knee him. She still remembered the sick feel of his hand on her chin. It was a hopeless situation. He could have taken from her everything she held dear from her first kiss to her virginity, but perhaps there was indeed a guardian angel.

Before Hiten could proceed with his vile act, a soccer ball connected soundly with the side of his face, making him stumble away from Kagome. Seizing the precious opportunity, Kagome ran toward her rescuer, who turned out to be Ayumi. The two girls looked at the irate Hiten, Kagome hiding behind Ayumi who was threatening to tell Eri of what happened. With a smirk, Hiten replied to their threat, his words engraved into their memories forever as the worst thing anyone had done to poor Eri, to them all.

"Tell the Eri bitch for all I care—she wouldn't believe you cuz she fucking eats out my palm. I didn't wanna go out with her anyway. The only damn reason I put up with the clingy chatterbox and hang around to do boring ass stuff with your loser group was because I wanna fucking get to Kagome. And you know what, Kagome, I may not get you today cuz the soccer whore interfered, but I'll be fucking your brain out before you know it. Go on. Go tell Eri that. Like she would believe you. And you watch out, too, Ayumi. I'll make you pay for ruining my fun with Kagome."

And with that he threw the ball at Ayumi before stalking off in the opposite direction. With comforting words, Ayumi managed to calm a sobbing Kagome as the two of them headed for the health center.

Shortly later, the two of them decided to tell the now-healthy Yuka. The girl listened grimly to them, believing them without a doubt that it had really happened. It was useless to inform the authorities of the harassment when no real damage was done and with no evidence; they also realized that Hiten's father was a notorious mobster and more harm than good would fall on them if they opened their mouths. When the three of them finally informed Eri, however, they found out that Hiten might be exaggerating about Eri eating out of his palm, but she obviously had very strong feelings for him. When she told them that she would wait until she asked her boyfriend about it, they decided to drop the subject.

Yuka and Ayumi both made sure that one of them or Suekichi was accompanying Kagome at all times. Hiten continued to hang out with them, pretending that nothing had happened. The tension in the group was at an all time high, and everyone seemed to be drained from it. Eri decided that she could not take the tension anymore and asked Hiten in front of every one of them about the incident. With cold cruelty, Hiten accepted every accusation and broke up with her promptly afterward, complaining about how he was wasting his time with her when he could have had much better catch with his look and status. And with a blowing kiss to Kagome (a taste of what could have been, he said), Hiten left. Barely two days later they saw him making out with some random girl in his car.

Eri was never quite the same after that, and neither were the rest of them. Always the cheery one, Eri decided to let it go and attempt to be happy again, but they all knew how hurt she was by the incident. She and Ayumi decided then that the love junkies were not worth their heartache, and solemnly swore off men until college. They were surprised Kagome did not join them when she was the one who suffered the most, but Kagome said that she refused to restrict herself when they had no idea where the tide of fate would carry them next. The four of them were later accepted to an all girl high school, putting the mostly unpleasant experiences they had with their share of boys in the past. Yuka continued to go out with Suekichi who went to a nearby co-ed high school and it was lucky that theirs was a case of "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

And that was precisely why Kagome Higurashi, seventeen years old, going into her senior year of high school, was nervously shuffling her feet in the presence of this gorgeous, silver-haired man. Okay, so he just helped her up when some dumb jerk knocked her to the ground. A little thank you was in order, right?

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern. Kagome swallowed. Damn, he'd beaten her to it. Now she just seemed rude and ungrateful.

"I-I'm all right. Thank you very much for helping me up." Stop shaking, Kagome!

"Would you like some help with the bags? Seems like you did an awful lot of shopping today."

"Well, my sister _did_ insist." Great. The first thing he noticed about her was that she was frivolous. She did not stop long enough to ask herself why she wanted him to have a good impression of her. Putting the shopping bags aside for the moment, Kagome gave him a sincere smile and held her hand out. "I'm Kagome. Nice to meet you."

Taking her hand in his, Inuyasha marveled at how tiny it was, flashing her a grin in answer to her shy smile. Kagome, she said? He liked the sound of that. Her name was part of an ancient chant and meant a plain bamboo basket, making her seem simple and mysterious at the same time . He doubted that she knew who he was, however. He might not have been in the papers and magazines as much as he used to when Takahashi Communication Corp. was newly handed to Sesshoumaru and him.

"Kagome. What a lovely name." And she blushed, giving him an adorable sight of her rosy face. He briefly wondered how far her blush would go, seeing as it painted all the way past the slim column of her throat. "Nice to meet you, too, Kagome. I'm—"

"Inuyasha, unhand my sister this instant!"

It was not a pleasant recognition, but he knew that voice. It took a while after he looked toward the direction of the voice before he registered that it belonged to an angry Kikyou, an angry Kikyou whom he hadn't seen for the past five years. It then took just a little longer for her words to sink in. A sister, she said? Kikyou chose this exact moment to tell him that she had a sister, a sister that happened to be this tempting girl in front of him. Inuyasha ground his teeth in anger, wanting to scream at fate to give him a fucking break. When he had collected some composure and shifted his attention back to the blue-eyed girl again, he found her looking back and forth between him and her sister in confusion. Did she know him now? Had Kikyou ever told her about him, how she fooled him into thinking she was the one? Why did he have to be attracted to the bitch's sister out of all people?

He could easily skip out right then, nipping any future heartache and headache in the bud, but he would not let fate have the last laugh this time.

"Kagome," he said her name again in a deadly whisper. "Kagome Higurashi?"

"Ye-yes. Wha-who are you?"

With a smile not unlike those of a tiger before he attacked his unsuspecting prey, Inuyasha sealed the beginning to their game of cat and mouse with a lingering kiss upon her hand.

"Inuyasha Takahashi. At your service, madam."

_End Chapter Two _

Author's Note: Wow, that was a long chapter wasn't it? Sorry for the wait. I should still be studying for exam but I figure I would write to relieve some stress.

I know that a lot of information is put in this chapter, but I really need to get the main characters' relationships and mindsets out of the way in order to continue forward to more complex and tangled future chapters…most of them, anyway. The lemons (yes, plural ) will serve as a break as well as a stepping stone to the relationships, but I'll try to put some plot into every chapter including the lemon chapters. I realize that "Stumbling Introduction" is rather dark, but every writer knows that good dramas come from conflicts. And everyone knows that life itself is not a smooth road to any traveler. Sigh. I'm blinding you all with my bright look at the world aren't I?

The case of a girl who had never been asked out because she was too good-looking was a real case in my days. Back in junior high I had this friend who was a real knockout, both face and figure. She was very nice, slightly on the athletic and talkative side, and came from a relatively average family. As the years went by and her other close friends, including me, had been out on dates and had shared stories of both puppy loves and heartbreaks, she still remained single. Finally her best friend and I got her a blind date with a boy we knew she liked, a nice but otherwise rather average boy who wrote for the school's newspaper and did well in school. After they became a couple he revealed to us that nobody was asking her out because they were afraid she was going to turn them down. Thus was the case with Kagome in this chapter. Luckily what happened with Hiten never happened to her to my knowledge.

All the names of the people and places in this story will be taken from Inuyasha based mostly on the manga rather than the anime. Anyone who can identify all the names used in this chapter get a cookie from me .

Thank you to all reviewers from the first chapter. I appreciate any comment and criticism I receive and will graciously use anything that will improve my writing. So if you have anything to say about this chapter, please review. Until next time.

Author's Note2: Hi everyone, just a little format edition so that it'll be easier on the eye. I would like to announce that Xaenthe (I highly recommend reading her stories) has agreed to be my beta reader. Cheers.

Author's Note3: (trying to duck flying rotten tomatoes) Umm, hi? Remember me? Yeah, I am really sorry for the late update. Life has just been so…lively. I just needed to get the edited chapters out of the way, edited by the help of the wonderful Xaenthe. Chapter 3 by the end of August, I promise!


	3. Before I do

No Smooth Path to Eros 

By Very Vicious Vixen

Before "I do" 

Kikyou was not sure about how she should treat her younger sister, to put it plainly. At Kagome's age, she was an outstanding archer and renowned activist in her school, not to mention an honor student heading straight to a top-ranked university. Self-sufficiency had become her ever since she was eight when her father left to start a new family and her mother continuously swing from hopeless despair to uncontrollable rage at her father's doing. However, it would not be fair to expect such high achievements from the related stranger. Her little sister may have the body any porn star could envy but one look at that unjaded face and Kikyou knew that she was raised sheltered and therefore as naïve as a young lamb surrounded by wolves in sheep's clothing.

And that was precisely why she needed to be kept away from Inuyasha.

Kagome seemed to have a great deal of questions as to why her older sister had literally dragged her away from Inuyasha Takahashi who must appeared to be a fine young man in her eyes, but Kikyou did not waste time to give her any explanation. The sight of him was so overwhelming, like a reopen of a just-healed flesh wound, and having to verbalize the hurt that he had inflicted upon her in the same day was too much. She needed to get away, and she needed to protect another innocent woman from the same pain. They made it to her apartment in record time, the younger girl looking slightly uncomfortable at the way her eyes blaze with anger.

But she could not lie to herself that one of the reasons she tried to separate Kagome from Inuyasha as fast as possible was because he was giving her little sister an open, genuine smile that he had once reserved for her alone.

Kikyou fingered the ring she wore around her neck absently, twisting it this way and that to make the platinum band gleam just right. The emerald-cut diamond was of superb quality, something Sesshoumaru demanded from everyone and everything, and weighed at six carat, the same number as the months she and Sesshoumaru spent on dating before he "popped the question." Kikyou smiled lightly. And what a proposal it was.

Kikyou remembered that he was in his usual three pieces suit, navy with a striped yellow tie, and he was driving the white Lamborghini rather than using the usual limousine service. She remembered being surprised, as they had agreed to have a casual date at Madam Joel's, one of her favorite pizza parlors, but Sesshoumaru seemed to have no objection to her tee-shirt, denim shorts and casual low pony-tail. He was very much quiet and withdrawn as he drove, however, and she, for once, chose to not question his silence as she gave him direction to the exact place.

Upon their arrival, Kikyou found the place completely packed, which was not that much of a surprise given its popularity and extremely tiny space, but she thought it was rather funny how she seemed to have seen most of the other patrons from somewhere. After they were seated (the head waitress graciously ignored the "We're full" sign up front and put together a seat for them in the back corner of the restaurant), Kikyou was even more surprised when Madam Joel herself was the one to take their order, dressing rather elegantly in a short dress in a shade of green that looked horrible with her complexion. Sesshoumaru was still rather quiet as they enjoyed the excellent iced tea and poutiness without much excitement, but the arrival of her pizza had put an end to his almost-silent treatment.

The pizza which was placed in front of her was just the way she liked it: just cheesy enough, just thin-crusted enough, just topped with enough olives and mushrooms.

The olives and mushrooms that were arranged into the slightly crooked words of "MARRY ME?"

If there was one thing Sesshoumaru Takahashi was not, it was romantic. In all their times together never once did he bring her flower or sweet little just-because-I-think-you-would-like-it gifts a woman might come to expect from her boyfriend, but she did not mind it because it suited her style perfectly. Ever since her heartbreak with Inuyasha back in college, Kikyou had put an end to all dreams of romance and prepared herself for a life time of relationships based on physical and intellectual attraction but with no emotional attachment. All her previous partners knew this, and they were the ones who choose to leave when they knew that they would never broke the ice around her heart. Sesshoumaru, however, seemed to be taken with her self-sufficiency, wits and grace rather than bothered with a silly little thing as love and complete devotion. And so, as she looked at the proposal pizza in front of her, a deep longing for a real family that she had never had came to the surface, and, blurred with tears, she could only make out the silver hair and golden eyes of the man in front of her when she choked out a yes.

And then all she could feel were the taste of his lips upon hers and the coolness of the platinum band upon her ring finger.

It turned out that Sesshoumaru had rented Madam Joel's for the whole night and the other patrons of the restaurant were in fact the workers who were asked to occupy the seats to give them complete privacy from prying eyes. Upon their departure, Sesshoumaru thanked everyone for their cooperation and handed Madam Joel a cheque before politely asking her and everyone in the room to keep what had just happened a complete secret from the press. Kikyou remembered smiling inwardly at his casual tone when she knew that he had already have everyone threatened with serious damage should they even think of opening their mouth.

They assigned their wedding planning to Abi, the eccentric but extremely talented wedding planner, warning her, as they did Madam Joel, to keep their engagement in absolute secrecy. The press had always been watching the Takahashi brothers, seeing as they were the most eligible bachelors in the decade, and the news of Sesshoumaru Takahashi being officially off the market would not be taken kindly. In order to protect their relationship and privacy, Kikyou hid her ring on he chain around her neck rather than on display for the whole world to see. Sesshoumaru did not seem to mind too much, for, in the most romantic and so non-Sesshoumaru words she had ever dreamt of hearing, her fiancé claimed that the ring on the chain would only be much closer to her heart.

Sighing, Kikyou slipped the ring onto her finger, feeling not for the first time the weight of the upcoming marriage upon herself. And yet, as she looked absently at the way the lamp light played with the brilliance of the diamond, she could not help but secretly wish that it was the other Takahashi brother that would soon be sharing that weight with her.

Sesshoumaru Takahashi's patience was wearing thin when the jacket he ordered for his best man kept returning as one size too small. Brides may order wedding clothes that were not their usual size so that they may have the motivation to lose weight; best men, however, would more than likely preferred clothes they could wear comfortably. Looking at the too narrow shoulders, he could clearly see how Inuyasha would refuse to squeeze himself into that one size too small small jacket, and if it was not fixed soon Sesshoumaru was sure he was going to lose the participation of his brother. Nothing seemed to be going wrong with the other aspects of the wedding, however, and he was looking forward to meet Kikyou's little sister who would be acting as the only bridesmaid in their rather untraditional wedding ceremony. Seeing as they would be in the same household for at least a year, he could not help but wonder what kind of girl this "Kagome" was. The first thing that started off their relationships as brother and sister-in-laws were Kikyou asking him to pull a few strings to get Kagome into Sengoku High.

It could be his imagination but Inuyasha appeared to be rather…fidgety. Many a time he seemed to be on his way to telling him something, but the younger man never did get around to actually complete the act. It was almost funny how Inuyasha looked as if he was the one experiencing the bridal jitter rather than he or Kikyou. Perhaps his little brother was thinking of getting hitch himself? He would love to meet the woman who can tame, or maybe it would be better to say trap, the wild bachelor.

Not for the first time since he had met his future bride, Sesshoumaru thanked the high heaven for giving him the perfect woman. She was very beautiful (he was only as much a visual creature as the rest of his race), intelligent (he would hate to have dumb children) and she was not after his money. There were times, however, when he looked into her eyes and saw how they were still so guarded, as if afraid of opening up to him completely. Thinking back onto the day of the proposal, Sesshoumaru could not find any reason not to interpret her tears as tears of joy for their shared future, and he planned to use it to make her trust him enough to tell him what she kept hidden underneath those gentle but distant smiles. He would prove to her that not all men were like the jerk who broke her heart in college by accusing her with a crime she did not commit!

End Chapter 

Author's Note: Can anyone tell I was hungry when I wrote the pizza proposal lol? Feel free to use this idea for your special someone; I won't copyrighted it

I promise more actions next chapter instead of all these emotional set ups and backgrounds. Sesshoumaru and Kikyou's relationship will be the second most important one in this story, extremely closely behind Inuyasha and Kagome's if I may hint. More important characters would be introduced next chapter most definitely as the sisters settled into their new lives. Gasp! Another hint! OK, I'll stop it now. I'll go write the next chapter right away.

Review and constructive criticisms most welcomed; they help me improve as a writer. Thank you for reading my story.


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